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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928228">Secondary</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StabbyMcstabboi/pseuds/StabbyMcstabboi'>StabbyMcstabboi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Diego Hargreeves &amp; The Hargreeves - Freeform, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Diego Hargreeves is Bad at Feelings, Diego Hargreeves-centric, Diego’s second power, Group Therapy, Post S2, Stuttering Diego Hargreeves, its legit 3:00am, this was so fucking rushed omg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:00:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,484</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928228</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StabbyMcstabboi/pseuds/StabbyMcstabboi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Diego discovers what his true powers are in the most unexpected place of all, a good old Hargreeves group therapy session</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Secondary</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Typically it makes sense for a second child to feel overlooked, inferior and neglected but when your actual birth name is Number Two and you just so happen to be part of a super family with incredible powers, you can’t help but feel like complete and utter shit. It really didn’t help that Diego’s power was trajectory manipulation. Don’t get me wrong, he was an incredible fighter and his combat skills were the best out of the whole academy but his actual power, although he hated to admit it, was the least impressive out of all his siblings. And after years of abuse and manipulation from his father, Diego’s self confidence had been left shattered, especially when it came to the strength of his powers in comparison to his siblings.  </p>
<p>So when they were doing some bullshit group therapy session that Allison demanded they all take part in, he was the last person to want to talk about his feelings and emotional stability and shit. Klaus, Vanya and Allison had already opened up, discussing their struggles with their powers and how they overcame them (although Diego was pretty sure none of them would ever fully overcome those issues). Luther was currently talking about how much the accident had affected him and how many times he’d tried to rip his own skin apart, just to see if his old body was still under there. Diego felt guilt course through his veins, the shame of how he’d treated Luther sitting like a stone in his stomach. He couldn’t seem to open his mouth to apologise, all he could do was to put his hand on Luther’s shoulder. His brother seemed to get the message.<br/>
‘Thanks Diego’ He said, smiling at his younger brother.<br/>
‘Diego do you want to talk, I know you struggled a lot with seeing dad again’ Allison said, her face full of empathy and encouragement. But Diego simply shook his head, he knew what happened when he got emotional and he really didn’t fancy having to stutter his way through a monologue with all his siblings looking at him with that same pitiful face they used to when they were kids.<br/>
‘Are you sure?’ Allison said. Diego nodded his head and he saw the look Allison and Klaus shared. He looked at all his siblings and noticed their concerned expressions which confused him.<br/>
‘Diego .... we know about the tanks.’ Klaus told him. Diego’s heart dropped, smashing the stone in his stomach into tiny shards that tore away at his guts. How the fuck could they know about the tanks? He never told anyone, except Ben and Ben was .... well he wasn’t there anymore.<br/>
‘I read it in dad’s journal in the apocalypse, and about Klaus in the mausoleum.’ Five said, an unusual level of sympathy lining his voice.<br/>
‘So you told everyone?’ Diego spat back, not caring how aggressive he sounded<br/>
‘I’m sorry, I thought Klaus knew.’ Five said<br/>
‘Fuck you’ Diego replied<br/>
‘Diego maybe you should talk about it, I’m not lying man, honestly it helps more than anything else’ Klaus said<br/>
‘What the fuck do you want me t-t-to say?’ Diego stuttered out, sighing in anger as he finished the sentence.<br/>
‘How long would he keep you in there for?’ Vanya asked, he couldn’t bring himself to shout at her sincerity so he sighed, resigning himself to opening up.<br/>
‘T-ten hours was the longest I th-th-think’<br/>
He hears muttering of ‘Jesus Christ’ and ‘holy shit’ from his siblings.<br/>
‘Did it hurt?’ Luther asked, looking genuinely concerned. Diego shook his head and saw the quiet looks of relief on his siblings faces.<br/>
‘You know why dad was always pissed at you?’ Five said<br/>
‘Because he was a piece of shit father’ Diego replied<br/>
‘Well that too but ... you were always a mystery to him.’<br/>
‘What?’ Diego frowned in confusion<br/>
‘Everyone else’s powers were connected, everyone else’s powers made sense, they were clear cut ... obviously after training but still. Yours never made sense to him’<br/>
‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ Diego asked as Five’s explanation had done nothing to elaborate on his initial statement.<br/>
‘Klaus’s powers are all connected to the dead, I can travel through both space and time, Luther can withstand incredible pressure and incredible harm. You however can throw knives and hold your breath.’<br/>
‘So?’ Diego was still incredibly confused.<br/>
‘Dad could never figure out what connected your powers’<br/>
‘What? And you have?’ Diego responded<br/>
‘Yeah’ Fives reply caught everyone’s attention, all the siblings looked intrigued, Diego the most so, waiting to finally hear some validation that his powers weren’t just some random mishmash of bullshit party tricks but that he had some real superhuman abilities that would finally make him a match for his siblings. Five’s answer however only confused him further.<br/>
‘When you throw a knife, you’re not controlling the actual object. You’re controlling the air around it’<br/>
‘What?’ Diego’s disappointment was clear, Five really was on some bullshit.<br/>
‘Diego you have the ability to control air, that’s why you can manipulate trajectories, that’s why you can stop bullets flying through the air, that’s why you can hold your breath for hours. You’re controlling the air.’<br/>
‘You’re full of bullshit Five’<br/>
‘It’s not bullshit Diego, it’s the truth. I think if you concentrated hard enough, you could move the air in this room and suffocate us all to death.’ Five seemed incredibly passionate about his delusion, it just pissed Diego off even more.<br/>
‘Yeah well you better watch your fucking back then old man’ Diego snapped back. Five sighed obviously giving up for the day.<br/>
‘If wanna let dad’s brainwashing still affect you as a fully grown adult then fine but just don’t come crying to me when you have a breakdown about how inferior your powers are.’ Five said before blinking out the room. Vanya got up, looking concerned.<br/>
‘I’ll go check on him’ she said before leaving the room too.<br/>
‘Fuck this’ Diego managed to get out before walking, or what was more like speed walking out the room. Luther looked at Klaus.<br/>
‘Do you wanna take this or shall I?’ Luther asked<br/>
‘I think we should leave him for a bit. You know Diego is, he needs some time to process this on his own.’ Allison said, with the remaining two brothers nodding their heads in agreement.<br/>
‘Well I would dare to say that was an incredibly successful session, although next time Allison sweetie, please bring some more snacks, those cookies were delicious’ Klaus rambled, Allison smiled at her brother, shaking her head in amusement. </p>
<p>Upstairs Diego was freaking the fuck out, he was breathing like crazy, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air. It felt insane though, with every breath he took it felt as though his lungs were turning into balloons, getting pumped bigger and bigger and bigger and eventually he felt they were on the verge of bursting. He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t breathe out that air, it was like he’d forgotten how to exhale, like the muscles in his chest couldn’t work. His decision was to just hold it, he wasn’t gonna die, he knew that but he just sat there and held it. He looked up at the ceiling and thought about what Five said, about how he could control air, or at least he might be able to. He looked up, concentrating on one corner of his room and then, as he thought more and more about being in the tank and about how it felt to throw a knife, he suddenly felt it. It was like a whooshing feeling, almost like being on a rollercoaster but lighter. He frowned, feeling no different physically but mentally being able to feel the connected to that corner of the room. He left out the breath and as he went to breathe in, he choked, realising the air in the room was gone. He sank to the ground and let out the tiny little bit of air left in his lungs, again feeling that same whooshing feeling as he relaxed. He took a deep breath in, sensing the movement of the air around him. He sat on the floor, breathing in and out, still in shock at what had just happened. Five was right, he couldn’t tell him just yet though, he couldn’t give the little bastard the satisfaction. But he’d have to tell them some time, he couldn’t keep this from them. Not when he finally had the ability to do something more than just throw a knife at a bank robber. Diego sighed in relief, knowing the air he just expelled from his lungs was now at his control and that no matter what his father said, his powers were not secondary. For the first time in his life Diego could accept that he wasn’t just his fathers soldier, he was a goddamn superhero.</p>
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